Riley Introduced As Oregon State Coach

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, February 19, 2003

Mike Riley was introduced Thursday for the second time as Oregon State's football coach _ four years after he left the Beavers for the NFL.

"I guess the world really is round," Riley said a day after accepting a seven-year deal to replace Dennis Erickson, who left to coach the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49-year-old Riley coached the Beavers in 1997-98 before bolting to become head coach of the San Diego Chargers. Most recently he was defensive backs coach of the New Orleans Saints.

"I can't say enough about how special it feels to be back in Corvallis again," he said.

Riley was among several candidates athletic director Bob De Carolis interviewed, including Boise State coach Dan Hawkins. De Carolis said he made just one offer _ to Riley.

"I saw firsthand what happened to this program in Mike Riley's second year," De Carolis said. "The phrase 'We're hoping to win,' went out the door."

When Riley took over at Oregon State in 1997, he inherited a program that had won just three games in the combined 1995-96 seasons.

He was 8-14 during his tenure with the Beavers, but his recruits _ including quarterback Jonathan Smith and running back Ken Simonton _ found ultimate success under Erickson, who finished 31-17 at Oregon State.

In Erickson's first year at Oregon State, the Beavers finished 7-5 after an NCAA-record 28 straight losing seasons. The following season, Oregon State went a school-best 11-1 and beat Notre Dame 41-9 in the Fiesta Bowl.

Seventeen of the 24 players who started for OSU in the Fiesta Bowl were recruited by Riley.

Smith, currently a graduate assistant coach, hopes to stay on under Riley.

"There's not a better guy around," Smith said.

Riley, fired after going 14-34 in three seasons with the Chargers, also interviewed for vacancies at Alabama and UCLA. He was offered the Alabama job, but turned it down to await UCLA's decision.

Erickson's departure and Riley's subsequent hiring was the first major hurdle faced by De Carolis, who became Oregon State's athletic director last August.

De Carolis replaced Mitch Barnhart, who hired Erickson in 1999 but left last summer to become Kentucky's athletic director.

In Erickson, De Carolis had a staunch supporter and affable spokesman for the school's plans for an $80 million, 8,000-seat expansion to Reser Stadium.

It is expected that Riley will pick up fund-raising efforts where Erickson left off.

Because he grew up in Corvallis and attended Corvallis High School, Riley has strong ties to the community. His father, Bud Riley, was an assistant at Oregon State from 1965-72, and again in 1979.

Shortly after he was formally introduced as coach, Riley was whisked away to a celebration for boosters.

"This is what I hope is my last job," Riley said. "And I hope I live a long time and I work a long time."

Riley's contract pays him $625,000 his first year with yearly raises, topping out at $950,000 in the seventh year.

He also has opportunities to make bonuses based on his team's academic performance, community service and on-field success. He has a $1 million buyout clause over the first five years of the deal.

He said not to expect sweeping changes in the program.

"We're not talking about a rebuilding, we're talking about re-enhancing and reaching the goal of winning the Rose Bowl," he said.

Riley first met with his team late Wednesday night.

"Obviously there will be new terminology to learn, but I think it will be easy to pick it up," tight end Tim Euhus said. "This is a great group of guys."

Before his first stint at Oregon State, Riley served as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator-quarterbacks coach at Southern California from 1993-96.

He also was head coach of the San Antonio Riders of the World League of American Football from 1991-92. Riley led the Riders to a 11-9 record in two seasons, including a 7-3 mark in 1992.

Riley spent the 1987-90 seasons as the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, where he was 40-32 and won two Grey Cup championships. He was the CFL Coach of the Year following the 1988 and 1990 seasons, when Winnipeg won titles.